POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Super funds are undermining climate commitments: Market Forces
Superannuation funds are squandering critical opportunities to force companies they invest in to step up on climate change, according to Market Forces analysis.
Will van de Pol, Market Forces asset management campaigner, said Market Forces had reviewed the voting records of the seven big super funds that had net zero commitments and who also disclosed their voting within days of an annual general meeting.
Active Super, BT Super, Cbus, HESTA, NGS Super, QSuper and Telstra Super populated the list.
“All but one of those funds voted against two or more key climate-related proposals in Australia since September,” van de Pol said.
“In fact, just 10 of the 32 votes identified were cast in favour of climate action. And given most funds haven’t even disclosed how they voted yet, climate voting records could be even worse across the broader superannuation sector.”
He said super fund members should demand for their super fund to vote for climate action on their behalf, with ANZ, NAB and Westpac all facing Market Forces backed shareholder votes urging them to stop funding expansion of the fossil fuel industry.
“All funds should vote in favour of these resolutions, especially those with their own net zero commitments,” he said.
“We have a chance to turn this around in the next few weeks. But we need to speak up now.”
Recommended for you
The super fund’s Future Saver High Growth option delivered an 11.9 per cent return for the financial year 2024–25, on the back of a diversified portfolio and actively managed investment strategy.
HESTA has delivered a 10.18 per cent return for its MySuper Balanced Growth option in the 2024–25 financial year, marking the third consecutive year of returns above 9 per cent for the $80 billion industry fund’s default investment strategy.
Sally McManus, secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), commented on the proposal after former prime ...
Strong performance across domestic equities and infrastructure assets has seen the fund achieve solid returns for the 2024-25 financial year.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
92.15 3 y p.a(%)
2
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
53.24 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
43.15 3 y p.a(%)
4
DomaCom Shoreline North Coogee
36.26 3 y p.a(%)
5
GAM LSA Private Shares AU I
35.87 3 y p.a(%)
